It appears that al Qaeda are capitalising on the ‘moderate’ jihadist persona compared to the ‘extreme’ IS according to an interview with Usama Hamza Australi in the latest issue of the slickly produced jihadist magazine Al Risalah (Issue 2):

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Both groups were one and the same untill a break up in early 2014. Both groups seek to establish an Islamic state with the strict implementation of Sharia Law.

Unfortunately Western main stream media and politicians are assisting in the ‘moderate’ perception by failing to focus on the group in Syria and instead focusing purely on IS.

Jabhat al Nusrah are an influential group, alligned with other powerful and influential Islamic coalitions on the ground in Syria. This lack of focus by politicians and main stream media is either remarkably ignorant or intentional.

They also have and continue to partner with Western deemed moderate groups in Syria against the Syrian Arab Army and its associated militias.

This same ideology attributed to IS and Jabhat al Nusrah is also shared by many other fundamentalist Islamic opposition groups operating in Syria as highlighted previously on The WIDER View, see previous posts below: